Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Claiming the Promise at General Convention

General
Convention 2012 is less than 90 days away! Integrity's marching orders are CLAIMING THE PROMISE: Making All Mean ALL! Since 1976 we have advocated for resolutions
that advance full inclusion in the Episcopal Church and in 2012 we will see
resolutions become reality.

It is important to you and your community that Integrity claims the promise of full inclusion at General Convention. Your gift of $100, $250 or $500 will make a crucial difference in our capacity for
change this summer.

Here's what Making All Mean ALL looks like:

·Liturgical
blessings for same gender couples throughout the Church.

·Support
for the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music's call for a church wide
conversation on marriage — armed with the data of recent states passing marriage
equality bills and the number of Episcopalians that affects.

·Fervent
advocacy for full inclusion of our transgender sisters and brothers, including
support for a resolution which adds "gender identity" and "gender
expression" to the church's non-discrimination canons and release of Voices of Witness 3: Out of the Box – a
video and study guide which puts the "T" in LGBT. Out of the Box will be a gift from
Integrity to all bishops and deputies. The resource will educate them to vote
for resolutions coming forward for transgender equality.

·Call for a strong church wide response
to all aspects of bullying, especially that based on sexual orientation or
gender expression.

Here's why MAKING All Mean ALL is important to
you:

·Christine
and Linda, Connecticut residents denied marriage by their parish
priest, were forced to go to aUnited Church of Christ pastor to marry them. How many more stories like this can we let
happen? Your donations can change this.

·

Carolyn Woodall recently became
the first transgender deacon ordained in the Diocese of San Joaquin. After a grueling
and painful process of seeking acceptance in her diocese, Carolyn finally found
a parish that celebrates who she is. How many others are there who don't find this type of welcome? We will
lobby at GC12 so that those like Carolyn never again become strangers left at
the gate.

·

In
2009, one in five high school students reported that they were bullied on
school property. In 2010, one in five reported having been cyber-bullied. Christians
cannot stand by and allow “the least of these” to be beaten, brutalized and
even murdered. Our children are committing suicide rather than choosing to face
anti-gay or other negative slurs. People of faith must be a moral compass and
say "No more!" Integrity will
partner with other social justice groups to pass resolutions at GC12 which do
just that.

Here's what
Integrity needs to Make All Mean ALL:
$110,000.

We are CLAIMING THE PROMISE that was made to
us in 1976. Resolution A069: "Resolved
that ... homosexual persons are children of God and have a full and equal claim
with all other persons upon the love and acceptance and pastoral concern and
care of the church."We need your gift to help Integrity finally
make this resolutiona reality at
GC12.

Here's where
your donation to CLAIMING THE PROMISE goes:

Integrity
will mobilize a group of up to 30 volunteers, divided into 5 teams, who will
work 24/7. Here's is just some of what they will do:

·Track,
research and influence legislation through committees and coming from the
floor.

·Resource
Integrity and other social justice partners from our Nerve Center.

·Inform
and educate the 10,000 attendees who will visit our Integrity booth.

·Produce
a multi-platform communications effort, including a nightly wrap-up on
IntegriTV.

Other costs
include travel & hotel expenses, rental fees for our Booth and offices, LiveStreaming the Integrity Eucharist, and producing a daily edition of IntegriTv.

$ $110,000 is
an ambitious goal for a small organization with few staff resources.The Holy Spirit has already christened our CLAIMING THE PROMISE campaign with
donations and pledges of over $10,000. It will be a true blessing if we can raise our
goal early this spring so that we can spend our time preparing for the most
successful General Convention ever.

Thank you
for the lifetime of support, work, money, and personal influence that you have given to Making All Mean ALL in the Episcopal
Church. Much of your hard work will come to fruition this July – if we have the
resources we need. Please stand with us again and give as generously as you
possibly can.

No comments:

Our Mission & Vision

Our Mission

Integrity USA's mission is to inspire and equip the Episcopal Church, its dioceses, congregations, and members to proclaim and embody God’s all-inclusive love for LGBTQ persons and those who love them.

Our Vision

Integrity's vision of its success is that The Episcopal Church thrives as a beacon of love, justice, and compassion, where ALL PEOPLE are equally embraced and empowered.

Our Blog Faeries

More Blog Faeries Wanted!

Blog faeries are volunteers who post content to Walking With Integrity. If you are interested in being a blog faerie, you must be willing to observe the commandments below, have a Google or Blogger account, and know how to use the Blogger system. Please contact IntegrityUSA@gmail.comto apply.

Blog Faerie Commandments

Thou shalt be a current Integrity member; for as thePsalmist says, “No good thing will YHWH withhold from those who walk with integrity.”

Thou shalt post legitimate news and public opinionfrom recognized sources; for few blogs are fonts of true wisdom.

Thou shalt not post gossip; for it is serious sin that nobody preaches about anymore.

Thou shalt not include thine own opinions in posts; but thou mayest post thine own opinions using the comments feature.